The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 20, 2025

Lyre (ndongo, endongo, entongoli, or kissar)

by 1928

Wood, reptile skin, pelt, cloth, and natural fiber
Diameter: 31.8 cm (12 1/2 in.); Overall: 43.2 cm (17 in.)
Gift of the African Art Sponsors of Karamu House 1929.346
Location: Not on view

Did You Know?

Imagine the buzzing, resonant sound that this string instrument would make.

Description

Lyres are common instruments across eastern Africa. The many names––endongo, ndongo, kissar, or entongoli—reflect how many different groups use this Ugandan type. This example is made from a wooden bowl-shaped sound box covered in the skin of a reptile, possibly a monitor lizard. The strings lead up to a crossbar once decorated with goat hair tassels at each end and sometimes cowrie shells.
  • 1928
    Purchased by Paul Travis on behalf of the African Art Sponsors and the Gilpin Players in Ekibondo, Democratic Republic of the Congo (then-Belgian Congo) or in Uganda
    1928
    The African Art Sponsors of Karamu House
    Provenance Footnotes
    1 Boger, Ann C. et al. Paul B. Travis Africa 1927-1928. Cleveland Museum of Art, 1982. PP. 32, 35, 47 (Congo collecting location)
  • African Art. Karamu House, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (March 1-May 30, 1960).
  • {{cite web|title=Lyre (ndongo, endongo, entongoli, or kissar)|url=false|author=|year=by 1928|access-date=20 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1929.346